The morning of the all hands summon to the Blasted Lands, Aely went for a walk. The late fall air was clear and cool, and leaves crunched under their feet in the less-traveled parts of the streets. She and Roger took the long way around Old Town, south through Tanner Circle and down Bulwarks, across […]

Every Friday here at Too Many Annas, you’ll find a little RP prompting – either in the form of 5 questions to answer about your character or in the form of a ficlet prompt (500 words) to write about them. These aren’t meant to be hard, just things to think about for your character – you can answer in a comment or use them as a blog post of your own!

This week’s five questions are inspired by Blogatelle, who talked a little about generational differences and how our characters might react to different leaders depending on when and where they grew up.

Does your character approve of his/her racial leader?

Does he/she approve of the faction leader (for now, let’s say that’s Warchief Thrall and King Varian Wrynn)? If you’re a Human or an Orc, how does your character feel about other people in leadership of your faction (since you answered this question with the racial one).

If they have a favorable impression, what does your character like about these leaders? If not, who would he or she prefer to see in their place?

Who is the best leader that your character remembers? Is that person actually a racial/faction leader, or were they a leader of a smaller group?

What is your character’s leadership style? Is he/she a good leader? A bad one?

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9 Responses to “RP Friday Five: Leadership”

Does your character approve of his/her racial leader?
Gelbin Mekkatorque, he’s a peculiar guy. On one hand, he’s absolutely nutso for trying to take back Gnomeregan (I have no particular attachment to that place. I’ll settle with Dalaran, thank you very much!). But on the other hand, he works real hard for the people, and they absolutely love him. Can’t really say no to that guy! And on another hand, you know, the mechanical claw that protrudes from a belt that he crafted himself, he’s a brilliant inventor. If he only approved of arcanotechnology, I would follow in his footsteps.

Does he/she approve of the faction leader (for now, let’s say that’s Warchief Thrall and King Varian Wrynn)? If you’re a Human or an Orc, how does your character feel about other people in leadership of your faction (since you answered this question with the racial one).
Ha! King Wrynn? What a fool. He’s going to shatter this alliance if he hasn’t done so himself.
King Bronzebeard? He’s the leader of the freaking dwarves. You don’t cross a dwarf on his bad day, let alone their king. Never met him personally, but I’d be smart about not pissing the guy off.
Malfurion Stormrage? Wait, he’s asleep? What is the deal with that? Isn’t there a spell that can wake him up? I got some arcane dust in my pocket, maybe he’ll sneeze himself out of it! As for Tyrande, she reminds me of Leyola, except, well, not a Druid. I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with Night Elves. Wait, neither of them are leaders? Are you kidding me?
Velen? He’s the Draenei guy right? Draenei aren’t really my forte either. But apparently he’s a solid guy. If these goats joined up sooner, he could be a bigger fish than he already is.

If they have a favorable impression, what does your character like about these leaders? If not, who would he or she prefer to see in their place?
Oops, see above, I guess!

Who is the best leader that your character remembers? Is that person actually a racial/faction leader, or were they a leader of a smaller group?
While I really don’t care much about these “racial leaders,” the only true faction leader that I respect is Antonidas of the Kirin Tor. I was accepted into the Kirin Tor after the second War, and the leader at the time was Archmage Antonidas. Now there’s a guy who knows his stuff. Smart, sharp, confident, POWERFUL. The man had it all. Even with his age, he still got stuff done. I still mourn his loss, as he was the first leader that I ever knew.

What is your character’s leadership style? Is he/she a good leader? A bad one?
I’m a loner. If I’m not alone, I follow. I’ll get things done when asked to. I’ll leave it to the likes of Leyola or Wimzig to organize our events and schedules. Probably Leyola more than Wimzig.

Does your character approve of his/her racial leader?
I actually had to look up who the Sin’dorei leader was lol. But Vvalterian Dawnsorrow felt that Kael’thas was a great leader who would lead his people to glory…until he found out about his betrayal. Seeing as how Lor’themar Theron doesn’t do anything except stand in Silvermoon all day, I would say no, Vvalterian doesn’t approve of him.
Does he/she approve of the faction leader (for now, let’s say that’s Warchief Thrall and King Varian Wrynn)? If you’re a Human or an Orc, how does your character feel about other people in leadership of your faction (since you answered this question with the racial one).
Vvalterian approves of the actions of Thrall. He sees something of the Sin’dorei’s own redemption in that of the Orcs, that if they can overcome their challenges then so can the Blood Elves.
If they have a favorable impression, what does your character like about these leaders? If not, who would he or she prefer to see in their place?
See above.
Who is the best leader that your character remembers? Is that person actually a racial/faction leader, or were they a leader of a smaller group?
I’d have to say that a good friend of mine, Tynian, was a great leader. He was able to organize us in effective ways.
What is your character’s leadership style? Is he/she a good leader? A bad one?
Vvalterian is a Holy Paladin. He prefers to stand in the back and support his allies rather then rally them together. He would rather fortify their defenses.

* Does your character approve of his/her racial leader?
My character, being one of the few forsaken not driven by a bitterness so sour it would make a lemon pull a cat’s-bum face, and also rather kind for a undead being, does not so much dislike Sylvanas as pity her, along with all his undead brethren. Why you ask? Why would one of Sylvanas’ own magisters pity her and not (as the rest seem to do) live and serve? This is because my character thinks along the same lines of Saint Bartholemew of the argent dawn – that the curse of the Undead is a simple malady needing to be cured. He, unlike many of his brethren, has also managed, though with great difficulty and much hardship, to regain several of his more ‘human’ emotions, such as compassion. He was not always this way, but he has slowly regained them, and if you could ignore the ever-slowly rotting flesh on his bones, could almost pass for human again.
However it is because of the trials that have let him regain his humanity back in all but form that he despises the thinking behind the majority of forsaken, however he has more pity than hate, as he realizes that unless they go through the equivilant hardship that he went through, they will never see their faults and never improve on what they have become, only regress further and further into monsters.

* Does he/she approve of the faction leader (for now, let’s say that’s Warchief Thrall and King Varian Wrynn)? If you’re a Human or an Orc, how does your character feel about other people in leadership of your faction (since you answered this question with the racial one).
As he is more human than ever (and as intelligent a mage as he ever was), he sees Thrall for the good character that he has having met him and seen what he has done for the Orkish people. Indeed, since Sylvanas sort of kicked him out of the Undercity for his mercy and protest of use of the plague upon live captured human specimens, he has taken up residence in Orgrimmar before relocating back to his old residence in Dalaran upon it opening it’s doors to the horde (willingly this time).
Likewise, he sees good people in Cairne and Vol’jin, though only having the opportunity to meet those people rarely has impeded a proper judgement somewhat.
He has met Lor’Thremar an even less number of times, and has not heard enough hearsay to form any rough conclusions, but he seems to be doing a good job of getting the Blood Elves back on their feet, even if he may not be promoting patience and dilligence as opposed to the lust for power that has seemed to been at the heart of the Blood Elves since they’re incorporation into the horde at the time of the Outlands conflict and Sunwell incident.

* If they have a favorable impression, what does your character like about these leaders? If not, who would he or she prefer to see in their place?
In Thrall, and Cairne my character sees people of honor, people who stand up for their beliefs and are generally good-natured people, but still rather ferocious fighters should the need arise. He assumes the same for Vol’Jin, Thrall and Cairne being his allies and comrades (however Sylvanas is also allied with Thrall, and we all know that there is EEEVIL shenanegans afoot in the Undercity). Lor’Thremar my character believes is certainly a step in the right direction after the mess that was Kael’Thas Sunstrider’s leadership (he believes that Kael’Thas was either just plain crazy or simply trying too hard to give his people a step up on the power ladder – either way he was out of hand and had to be stopped) but the Blood Elves he thinks are still consumed with seeking power for power’s sake, which before he ragained his humanity he would have agreed with (per the teachings of the forgotten shadow) but now he frowns upon it, as do most of the high elves. However he also believes that exposure to the Naaru and simple time to heal the wounds Arthas left will correct this – He just hopes it corrects before the Blood Elves do something stupid(er).

* Who is the best leader that your character remembers? Is that person actually a racial/faction leader, or were they a leader of a smaller group?
Having been an assosciate of the argent dawn (and even given the title of honorary Champion of the Argent Dawn) he has had a lot of contact with good people, righteous men and women, who while still disconcerted with talking to a living corpse (and who isn’t?) do not judge him based on his race or his undead brethren, but on his actions alone. However one person with whom he has truly connected is with the living saint Leonid Barthalomew the Revered. The two share a very similar story – either fleeing or abandoning the forsaken because of the monster their ‘brethren’ had become, overcoming the monster inside and now fighting for the very thing their forsaken husks represent – the evil that is the undead and the threat they pose to the world of Azeroth. When Horthas retires to assist the Dawn within the Eastern Plagelands and rests bare moments at Light’s Hope Chapel, he often talks to Leonid about many things – and on most they agree, but on some they do not, especially how their undead cousins should be handled if they were to ever become a major threat – and it has been shown at the Wrathgate how deadly they have become thanks to the nefarious work of the Royal Apothecary Society (some of which Horthas, being an alchemist, helped with before regaining his humanity and is still rather shameful of having done.).

* What is your character’s leadership style? Is he/she a good leader? A bad one?
My character would prefer to advise rather than lead directly, however should the current leadership show them selves to be less than competent enough to complete the task at hand, then he will (grudgingly) take over if the need arises.
While he has studied the intricacies of warfare and leadership, he is still rather ‘booky’ (though he has journeyed the width and breath of the continents) and because of this, many of those who would think that they can lead do not take him seriously until threatened with the power of the arcane. That is not to say he leads with fear tactics; to those who work under him he offers kindness and understanding, often met with bewilderment or caution as these are rare traits (if not almost nonexistent) in a forsaken, and will listen and weigh all arguments provided they are backed up with known experience or logical statements.

* Does your character approve of his/her racial leader?
My character, being one of the few forsaken not driven by a bitterness so sour it would make a lemon pull a cat’s-bum face, and also rather kind for a undead being, does not so much dislike Sylvanas as pity her, along with all his undead brethren. Why you ask? Why would one of Sylvanas’ own magisters pity her and not (as the rest seem to do) live and serve? This is because my character thinks along the same lines of Saint Bartholemew of the argent dawn – that the curse of the Undead is a simple malady needing to be cured. He, unlike many of his brethren, has also managed, though with great difficulty and much hardship, to regain several of his more ‘human’ emotions, such as compassion. He was not always this way, but he has slowly regained them, and if you could ignore the ever-slowly rotting flesh on his bones, could almost pass for human again.
However it is because of the trials that have let him regain his humanity back in all but form that he despises the thinking behind the majority of forsaken, however he has more pity than hate, as he realizes that unless they go through the equivilant hardship that he went through, they will never see their faults and never improve on what they have become, only regress further and further into monsters.

* Does he/she approve of the faction leader (for now, let’s say that’s Warchief Thrall and King Varian Wrynn)? If you’re a Human or an Orc, how does your character feel about other people in leadership of your faction (since you answered this question with the racial one).
As he is more human than ever (and as intelligent a mage as he ever was), he sees Thrall for the good character that he has having met him and seen what he has done for the Orkish people. Indeed, since Sylvanas sort of kicked him out of the Undercity for his mercy and protest of use of the plague upon live captured human specimens, he has taken up residence in Orgrimmar before relocating back to his old residence in Dalaran upon it opening it’s doors to the horde (willingly this time).
Likewise, he sees good people in Cairne and Vol’jin, though only having the opportunity to meet those people rarely has impeded a proper judgement somewhat.
He has met Lor’Thremar an even less number of times, and has not heard enough hearsay to form any rough conclusions, but he seems to be doing a good job of getting the Blood Elves back on their feet, even if he may not be promoting patience and dilligence as opposed to the lust for power that has seemed to been at the heart of the Blood Elves since they’re incorporation into the horde at the time of the Outlands conflict and Sunwell incident.

* If they have a favorable impression, what does your character like about these leaders? If not, who would he or she prefer to see in their place?
In Thrall, and Cairne my character sees people of honor, people who stand up for their beliefs and are generally good-natured people, but still rather ferocious fighters should the need arise. He assumes the same for Vol’Jin, Thrall and Cairne being his allies and comrades (however Sylvanas is also allied with Thrall, and we all know that there is EEEVIL shenanegans afoot in the Undercity). Lor’Thremar my character believes is certainly a step in the right direction after the mess that was Kael’Thas Sunstrider’s leadership (he believes that Kael’Thas was either just plain crazy or simply trying too hard to give his people a step up on the power ladder – either way he was out of hand and had to be stopped) but the Blood Elves he thinks are still consumed with seeking power for power’s sake, which before he ragained his humanity he would have agreed with (per the teachings of the forgotten shadow) but now he frowns upon it, as do most of the high elves. However he also believes that exposure to the Naaru and simple time to heal the wounds Arthas left will correct this – He just hopes it corrects before the Blood Elves do something stupid(er).

* Who is the best leader that your character remembers? Is that person actually a racial/faction leader, or were they a leader of a smaller group?
Having been an assosciate of the argent dawn (and even given the title of honorary Champion of the Argent Dawn) he has had a lot of contact with good people, righteous men and women, who while still disconcerted with talking to a living corpse (and who isn’t?) do not judge him based on his race or his undead brethren, but on his actions alone. However one person with whom he has truly connected is with the living saint Leonid Barthalomew the Revered. The two share a very similar story – either fleeing or abandoning the forsaken because of the monster their ‘brethren’ had become, overcoming the monster inside and now fighting for the very thing their forsaken husks represent – the evil that is the undead and the threat they pose to the world of Azeroth. When Horthas retires to assist the Dawn within the Eastern Plagelands and rests bare moments at Light’s Hope Chapel, he often talks to Leonid about many things – and on most they agree, but on some they do not, especially how their undead cousins should be handled if they were to ever become a major threat – and it has been shown at the Wrathgate how deadly they have become thanks to the nefarious work of the Royal Apothecary Society (some of which Horthas, being an alchemist, helped with before regaining his humanity and is still rather shameful of having done.).

* What is your character’s leadership style? Is he/she a good leader? A bad one?
My character would prefer to advise rather than lead directly, however should the current leadership show them selves to be less than competent enough to complete the task at hand, then he will (grudgingly) take over if the need arises.
While he has studied the intricacies of warfare and leadership, he is still rather ‘booky’ (though he has journeyed the width and breath of the continents) and because of this, many of those who would think that they can lead do not take him seriously until threatened with the power of the arcane. That is not to say he leads with fear tactics; to those who work under him he offers kindness and understanding, often met with bewilderment or caution as these are rare traits (if not almost nonexistent) in a forsaken, and will listen and weigh all arguments provided they are backed up with known experience or logical statements.

1) Yes and No. Sidheknight thinks that Lor’Themar Theron is a good and well-intended guy, but he’s very… inactive? He hasn’t done very much to hold his people together and lead them after Kael’Thas betrayal. And his participation on the Horde’s decisions is almost nule, compared to that of Sylvanas or Cairne, for example.

2) Yes. Sidheknight totally approves the actions of his faction leader, Warchief Thrall. Their goals are the same: To redeem themselves and survive in a world that hates them. However, he thinks that Thrall should disciplinate that reckless youngling of Garrosh Hellscream.

3) See above.

4) Sidheknight admires the leadership of his guild leader, the orc warrior Krom.

5) He has lead many parties of adventurers to victory on the countless dungeons of Azeroth and Outland. He’s good leading small groups, but a total inexpert when it comes to larger raids.

2) Ringo at least thinks Wrynn is more right than not about the Horde. The way home to Outland has been re-opened; the orcs need to go home. The trolls have always been the enemies of the dwarves, and there can be no more peace with them than with troggs. And both Ringo and Beli spent some time in human lands when they were younger, and view the undead as abominations who need to be laid to rest so that the few human survivors of Lordaeron can reclaim their nation.

3) The king — even in the frustrating exception of taking so long to return to Northrend, where Ringo had thought he had lost brothers with Muradin’s expedition — clearly acts in what he thinks is the best interests of his people, and seems to have his eye on the big picture more than most of the senate does. Ringo has one brother who talks about running for the senate, which Ringo and Beli are dubious about. (A Senator Flinthammer, that is: The senate as a whole is a good thing, and a better form of government than the other races have.)

4) No one has ever out-done their king, as far as Ringo is concerned.

5) Although he considers himself a deep thinker, who looks at all sides of an issue before acting, truthfully, Ringo tends to jump in with both feet based on first impressions. He and Beli actually conducted guerrilla attacks on the survivors of the Exodar’s crash, thinking that they were part of a Burning Legion attack force, while they scoffed at the explorers and diplomats from Darnassus whom they figured were walking into a demonic trap.

*Nibelung, the Dwarvish Death Knight, and former Paladin of the Silver Hand, he has seen the rise and fall of several powerful men. Starting with the banishment of he and all his brethren by the Spoiled-Prince Arthas, and then the death of Uther at the hands of Arthas the Death Knight. After joining the Argent Dawn he was slain during an expedition into the scourge stronghold of Stratholme and was corrupted into a being of unholy power. Upon the uprising of the Death Knights against the Lich King, Nibeling was one of the first to call upon Darion Mograine to guide these newly freed souls. Darion is a truly great man, and has retained a fair amount of his human emotions and rationality. However, once the Knights of the Ebon Blade have their revenge upon Arthas, it is unclear if Darion will be able to lead them down a path of peace and civil living amongst the races. Nibelung considers himself a Death Knight first and foremost now-a-days and a Dwarf secondly, as such he has formed no opinion of King Magni’s qualities as a leader. Before his death and rebirth (or un-birth) he had devoted himself to the Light and aiding those who could not aid themselves, regardless of their physical features, following in the footsteps of the Great Tirion Fordring. He had spent very little time in the city of Ironforge, having been born a Wildhammer dwarf in the highlands around Aeire Peak, and sent to the monasteries to learn of the Light at a young age.
As for Varian Wrynn, Nibelung sees a man whose emotions lead him and not his intelligence. He feels the alliance would be much better off with a more level-headed leader lest they be taken down the same path Arthas took Lordearon down so many years previous. A leader such as Jaina Proudmoore or Velen the Prophet would do much good for the Alliance and all of Azeroth as a whole.
Although his memories of his life before undeath are still only slowly coming back to him, there are a few men who are unquestionably some of the greatest leaders Azeroth has ever seen, whom he had the pleasure of knowing personally. Of these Uther was by far the most inspiring presence and many a man and woman followed him loyally. Tirion Fordring was Nibelung’s mentor and personal inspiration during his life as a paladin, and even as an un-dead, seeing Tirion at the Battle of Light’s Hope Chapel inspired him to reject the dark of the Lich King and to support Darion in his leadership of the Ebon Blade.
Nibelung is a true general and strategist, however, unlike other leaders he gets a thrill from going toe-to-toe with all sorts of creatures, taking the personal risk of his own life in order to protect others. Some say this is because the Light smiles upon him still, even if he can not wield it, some say it is because of the natural dwarven temper and stubbornness that drive him to be in the forefront of the most heated battles, and others who know him say it is because of the dark fury of undeath that spur him on during combat when others may falter from fatigue. Whatever the reason, he has led several excursions into the heart of the Lich King’s forces and come out victorious time and time again.

For Lans:
1. “King Wrynn’s a real blood, cut from the same cloth as the men I run with. But he ain’t MY king–Lady Proudmoore’s my sovereign–and I ain’t afraid to say it, he gets carried away too easy. I can’t fault him how much he hates the orcs, ’cause look what they did to ‘im. Still, that’s not a fight we got the luxury to pick these days.”
2. “Ain’t heard much from Mekkatorque, though he seems good enough. Whisperwind and Staghelm…they ain’t too concerned for those who ain’t kaldorei, so I ain’t too concerned for them. Less we argue, the better we can be friends. Bronzebeard…now THERE’S a blood. If I were a dwarf, I’d be proud to have one like him in charge. And Velen…I don’t know. That one, he’s like nothin’ else. Like a naaru made flesh and blood, or something. I ain’t spoken to him, but if I did, I wouldn’t know what to say. I know one thing: His people are some o’ the best o’ the Alliance, and we’re lucky to have them.”
3. “I like ’em well enough. But if I had my way, Lady Proudmoore’d be the one in charge of all of us. You know why that is? It’s because she would never piking volunteer for it!! You want the best leadership, you put the one in charge who wasn’t after it in the first place! The Alliance would be FAR improved with her at the helm.”
4. “Basher, you never met Lord Anduin Lothar. I’ll tell you; there’s them that sit about waxing philosophical on right and wrong. Then there’s the occasional man who just gets up and DOES RIGHT. He brought us together. He called us brother. There’s a reason he’s a legend.”
5. “I ain’t one to lead, I’ll give you. At least, not one to volunteer for it. I like bein’ given a direction, and makin’ it my business to see it done. I’ll call the shots in a combat operation myself, but really, that’s different. But if some leatherhead made me king? Well, damn. If you know me at all, you know I ain’t one to pretty up words the way they’re expected, so whoever volunteered to be my subject better damn well not blame me if they get their feelings hurt if what I tell ’em is best is something they don’t like.”

Alsana Comstock is from Lordaeron, rather than Stormwind, so the last faction leader she truly felt allegiance to was King Terenas Menethil, who died when she was (if I am doing my math right) 13.

That said, she approved of King Wrynn. While occasionally overzealous, he projects a strength that the battered human race badly needs.

(OOC, of course, I think that King Wrynn is, given the blood elves letting their pet naaru go, and the Forsaken drumming out all the apothecaries under Putress, Wrynn is the single worst individual leading a player faction in WoW right now. He is evil, evil, evil, and his racist warmongering against the Horde even while the Lich King is on the move is not just bone-headed but a menace to the continued existence of the world.)

All of this changed when she fell in with the Argent Crusade crowd, though… but more on that later.

Does he/she approve of the faction leader (for now, let’s say that’s Warchief Thrall and King Varian Wrynn)? If you’re a Human or an Orc, how does your character feel about other people in leadership of your faction (since you answered this question with the racial one).

She basically knows nothing about Tyrande, Staghelm, or Velen, as the only parts of Kalimdor she’s seen are the areas around Theramore and Tanaris. She considers Magni Bronzebeard to be a fine leader, especially after the Bronzebeard brothers were reunited, helping him get over his grief for Muradin and concern for Brann. She empathizes with Gelbin Mekkatorque, since the gnomes, like the humans of Lordaeron, saw their homeland lost forever, but privately thinks that the proper thing for him to have done was go down with his ship, instead of flee to Ironforge with the other exiles.

If they have a favorable impression, what does your character like about these leaders? If not, who would he or she prefer to see in their place?

Extensive cooperation with the Argent Dawn in the Plaguelands and the Argent Crusade in Northrend has convinced Alsana that cooperation between the two factions is essential for defeating the Lich King. As such, she’s soured somewhat on King Wrynn– not to the point of disliking him, but thinking that perhaps a tour of Northrend would do hims some good. Magni Bronzebeard showed up in Northrend, why not King Wrynn, too?

So she’d like to see some other prominent humans take more of an active role in things. Maybe Jaina Proudmoore, who seems to run a tight ship over in Theramore, or maybe Tirion Fordring.

Who is the best leader that your character remembers? Is that person actually a racial/faction leader, or were they a leader of a smaller group?

Tirion Fordring, by far. Meeting Tirio for the first time in the Plaguelands was a life-changing experience for Alsana– she hadn’t seen Lordaeron since before the Third War (her family was in Kul Tiras for the duration of the war, before moving back to the Lordaeron rump state in the Hillsbrad Foothills), and was deeply shocked at the total destruction of everything she knew. But there was Fordring, living in his little shack, and still showing a sense of human decency.

Later on, fighting alongside him in Northrend further convinced him of his greatness. She now identifies more with the Argent Crusade than any other group.

What is your character’s leadership style? Is he/she a good leader? A bad one?

While she’s mellowed out somewhat, her past as a spoiled aristocrat colors her leadership style, which is not particularly good.

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Anna is a 20-something gamer on the Feathermoon (US RP-PVE) Server in World of Warcraft. Here you'll find all kinds of
assorted things about WoW, including roleplay, raiding, and whatever else Anna feels like rambling about today. She's got a lot of alts, so you never know what you'll find!